Smart diagnostic mouth guard system

Abstract

Various examples are provided for a smart mouth guard for diagnosis, quantification, and/or management of e.g., bruxism. In one example, among others, a diagnostic mouth guard includes a plurality of pressure sensors and processing circuitry configured to provide pressure sensor data to an external processing unit when located in an oral cavity. The diagnostic mouth guard may also include temperature, pH and/or inertia sensors. In another example, a system includes the diagnostic mouth guard and the external processing unit such as, e.g., a smart phone, table or computer. The diagnostic mouth guard can communicate with the external processing unit over a wireless channel.

Therefore, at least the following is claimed: 
     
       1. A diagnostic mouth guard, comprising:
 a body for insertion into an oral cavity and placement over a plurality of adjacent teeth of a user, the body comprising a medial region that is disposed between upper and lower teeth of the user when the body is thus placed over the plurality of adjacent teeth; 
 a plurality of pressure sensors mounted in the medial region of the body, each individual pressure sensor of the plurality of pressure sensors occupying a position in the body between the upper and lower teeth when the body is thus placed over the plurality of adjacent teeth and comprising an elastomeric member having on a first side thereof a corresponding first conductive pad and on a second side thereof a member selected from the group consisting of a second conductive pad, an electrical path to ground, and a combination thereof, the elastomeric member having a thickness and a Young's modulus selected and configured so that each individual pressure sensor constitutes a capacitive transducer having a capacitance correlating with a biting force applied to the medial region of the diagnostic mouth guard at a location of such individual pressure sensor on the elastomeric member; and 
 processing circuitry, in communication with the plurality of pressure sensors, configured to provide pressure sensor data, based upon the capacitance of the individual pressure sensors, to an external processing unit when the diagnostic mouth guard is located in the oral cavity. 
 
     
     
       2. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a microprocessor, and a transceiver embedded in the diagnostic mouth guard. 
     
     
       3. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 2 , wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate with the external processing unit over a wireless channel. 
     
     
       4. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 1 , further comprising a temperature sensor. 
     
     
       5. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 1 , further comprising an intervention feedback unit configured to provide feedback to the user of the diagnostic mouth guard when the diagnostic mouth guard is located in the oral cavity. 
     
     
       6. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 5 , wherein the intervention feedback unit comprises a vibration motor. 
     
     
       7. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 1 , further comprising an inertia sensor comprising an accelerometer or a gyroscope. 
     
     
       8. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 1 , comprising the external processing unit, in communication with the processing circuitry when the diagnostic mouth guard is located in the oral cavity, configured to process the pressure sensor data, and constituting the external processing unit of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       9. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 8 , wherein the external processing unit is configured to obtain the pressure sensor data from the processing circuitry of the diagnostic mouth guard. 
     
     
       10. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 9 , wherein the external processing unit is configured to process the obtained sensor data to determine a condition of bruxism. 
     
     
       11. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 10 , wherein the external processing unit is configured to initiate an intervention in response to the determination of the condition of bruxism. 
     
     
       12. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 11 , wherein the intervention is an initiation of music therapy. 
     
     
       13. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 11 , wherein the intervention is an initiation of feedback provided by the diagnostic mouth guard. 
     
     
       14. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 13 , wherein the feedback provided by the diagnostic mouth guard is a vibration. 
     
     
       15. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 10 , wherein the external processing unit is further configured to provide an indication of the condition of bruxism through a graphical user interface (GUI). 
     
     
       16. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 8 , wherein the external processing unit is a smart phone or a smart watch. 
     
     
       17. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 8 , wherein the external processing unit is a personal computer. 
     
     
       18. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 8 , wherein the external processing unit is a tablet computer. 
     
     
       19. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 18 , wherein the tablet computer is configured to implement an “mHealth” (mobile-health) monitoring system. 
     
     
       20. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 8 , wherein the external processing unit is a cell phone or a smart watch configured to implement an “mHealth” (mobile-health) monitoring system. 
     
     
       21. The diagnostic mouth guard of  claim 1 , wherein the individual pressure sensors comprise an elastomer disposed between an electrode and a portion of the plurality of adjacent teeth of the user.